Featured Blog Posts – October 2008 Archive (6)

AmeriCredit Put on Watch for Ratings Downgrade

An increase in loan losses and continued economic uncertainty led Standard & Poor's today to put AmeriCredit Corp. on watch for a possible ratings downgrade.

The lender's net charge-offs were 7.3% in the third quarter, an increase of 200 basis points from the same quarter a year ago, according to S&P. That number is expected to continue rising as the economy continues to remain anemic. An increase in losses could soak up much of AmeriCredit's cash on hand, possibly triggering… Continue

Added by Mike Gibb on October 29, 2008 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

Chase Offering 50 Basis Point Discount to Its 'Premier' Customers

Chase Auto is offering its Chase Premier Checking customer a discount of 50 basis points on car loans.

The discount is only available if the borrower agrees to make automatic payments. Chase says the discount can save their customers up to $325 on a $24,000 loan listed at 7% APR.

Chase Auto, the unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co, is promoting the new offer on the homepage of its chase.com website. Click… Continue

Added by JJ Hornblass on October 29, 2008 at 9:30am — No Comments

GM Wants To Get TARPed

Two of the most stalwart corporate names in America are considering joining forces, principally so they can participate in the federal government's $700 billion bailout, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal.

The proposed marriage of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC is based on finances and not much else, according to the Journal. Worried that it might run out of cash within a year, GM has its eyes on Chrysler's $11 billion cash reserves. Cerberus… Continue

Added by Mike Gibb on October 29, 2008 at 8:20am — 1 Comment

Prognosis Poor for the Auto Finance Market

This evening I'll be kicking off the eighth annual Auto Finance Summit with a presentation on the prospects for the automotive lending and leasing market. My central message: the prospects are not good.

Among the points that I will be making are:

-Both the overall auto market, as well as auto loan and lease asset quality, will be poor for the foreseable future;

-That inadequate access to capital will continue to plague this industry;

-That there still… Continue

Added by JJ Hornblass on October 6, 2008 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Will GM's Better-Than-Expected Numbers Mean More Incentives?

The numbers weren't pretty today when manufacturers reported their September car sales. Breaking it down:

- Nissan down 37% from September 2007

- Ford down 35%

- Toyota down 32%

- Honda down 24%

- GM down 16%

This was the 11th straight month that car sales declined from their previous year levels.

GM's sales were buoyed by an employee pricing incentive. More manufacturers may follow suit, especially since the industry is facing an even… Continue

Added by Mike Gibb on October 1, 2008 at 3:51pm — 2 Comments

Will 2009 Be The New 2008?

Tucked neatly into a Wall Street Journal article about the approval of $25 billion in low-interest loans for auto manufacturers to help them re-tool their operations to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles was this little nugget:

"Detroit's Big Three, once bullish on a turnaround in the auto sector in 2009, now expect to be another challenging year for auto sales in the U.S."

Today's… Continue

Added by Mike Gibb on October 1, 2008 at 8:39am — No Comments